Engineers, activists among aquifer board

Pollution prevention and monitoring of the Spokane Valley/Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer are set to continue now that the Kootenai County commission has appointed its first aquifer protection board.

The commission named 11 members Tuesday to the Policy and Budget Committee that’s part of the Aquifer Protect District voters approved in November.

“We’ve been waiting a long time to get this board set up,” commission Chairman Rick Currie said, calling it a “red-letter day” in Kootenai County.

The advisory board will make recommendations to the county commission on monitoring and protection programs and on the annual fee that will fund the programs.

Starting this year, households above the aquifer will pay up to $6 per year for its protection; businesses would pay up to $12 annually.

The fee will generate roughly $300,000 a year, letting the district increase monitoring programs and perhaps keep up with the growth that is adding homes and businesses over the aquifer, which is the source of drinking water for more than 500,000 people. The growth has made it difficult for Panhandle Health District to keep track of who’s dumping what where.

The new district budget will replace about $90,000 in state funding that is no longer available for aquifer protection measures. The extra money will allow for more monitoring and prevention. And it will make the district about equal to what’s collected for aquifer protection in Spokane County, where households pay $15 a year.

“I’m excited to try and help,” said engineer Paul Klatt, who was appointed to the committee and expects to provide technical knowledge on water treatment.

Local activist Kristy Reed Johnson also was selected. She said she is looking forward to using her years of involvement in local environmental issues to help select priorities for the district.

Currie said the commission will soon have an informal organizational meeting with the new committee to explain the group’s mission.

After that, the committee will begin meeting regularly.

Twenty-eight people applied for the board.

Commissioner Todd Tondee said he was impressed with the interest and the qualifications.

“We will have a great board come out of this, and it will go far in protecting our aquifer,” he said.

By law, board members must have specific backgrounds.

Besides Klatt and Johnson, the other board members include:

“Ron Johnson, engineer

“Bert Rohrbach, Hayden Lake Irrigation District board

“Thomas DePew, retired geologist and chairman of the Hayden Lake Recreational Water and Sewer District

“Rep. Jim Clark, R-Hayden Lake, and past president of the Honeysuckle Hills Water Association

“Allen Isaacson, hydrologist and aquatic ecologist

“Former Rep. Wayne Meyer, R-Rathdrum and Rathdrum Prairie farmer

“Robert Turnipseed, water master for three private systems and construction business owner

“Former Rep. Freeman Duncan, R-Post Falls and local attorney

“Terry Werner, Post Falls Public Works director